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Weaver ready to throw bullpen session

Weaver ready to throw bullpen session

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LOS ANGELES -- The distance between Jered Weaver's rehab and the pitching rubber is now only about a foot.

The Angels ace, still recovering from a strain in his lower back, took another step forward on Monday, throwing about 30 pitches from the front part of the mound, where he incorporated his curveball, slider, changeup and fastball.

"Felt great," Weaver said. "Didn't feel nothing."

Next up will be a full-fledged bullpen session on Tuesday -- while actually toeing the rubber this time -- then perhaps a simulated game a couple of days later. After that, his first start since May 28 -- when he felt excruciating pain in his back while delivering a pitch, leaving his outing against the Yankees in the first inning -- should only be days away.

"It's feeling good," Weaver said of his lower back, which didn't even allow him to throw a warmup pitch that afternoon. "I haven't felt it since two days after it happened. Just wanted to be more safe than sorry. The little slope is definitely a step in the right direction."

Chris Iannetta (right wrist surgery) felt stiffness in his forearm while warming up before what was supposed to be his first rehab game for Class A Inland Empire on Friday, but has been cleared to resume baseball activities again.

The Angels' starting catcher, out since May 8, is expected to start his rehab assignment in the middle of the week, with manager Mike Scioscia estimating he'd need four or five games behind the plate before being activated.

Catcher Bobby Wilson recently passed an impact test, which evaluates a concussion victim's reaction time and memory, and was cleared for full baseball activities for the first time Monday. He's targeting being activated from the seven-day disabled list over the weekend.

"Yesterday was the best I've felt," said Wilson, who suffered his fourth career concussion while taking a foul ball of his face mask on June 4. "I could finally read all the signs out in the outfield in Colorado without having to squint or without it being a little blurry. That, to me, just says that I'm over it."